2006 Mooneyes Xmas Party - Moon Over SoCal - Expanded Web Coverage

The Christmas season is all about tradition: smooching under the mistletoe, sipping creamy eggnog, and trolling for parking at the local shopping galleria.

In Southern California, fans of traditional rods and customs have developed a bit of holiday tradition of their own. Every year in early December, they scrub the whitewalls on their rides, dust off the primer, and motor on over to the Mooneyes Xmas Party and car show.

Like any holiday tradition, this one has evolved a bit through the years. It began as the Rat Fink Reunion, an annual party honoring Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (who always showed up to help host) and the kustom kulture he helped spawn. The focus of those early reunions, held at Moon headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, was Fink-inspired art and the artists who were carrying the torch Roth lit. By the turn of the century, the reunions were attracting a couple hundred traditional rods and customs-enough to overflow the Moon parking lot and clog the surrounding streets.

After Roth passed away in 2001, the reunion morphed into the Mooneyes Xmas Party and continued growing. It quickly outgrew its first venue-the Whittier Elks Lodge-and moved to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Academy (more than a little irony there, eh?) for several years. This past December 9, the ever-expanding primer 'n' pinstripe festival moved to its largest venue yet: Irwindale Speedway.

The location wasn't the only new twist for the 2006 bash. For the first time, the show included eighth-mile drag racing for anyone who wanted to run (provided their car could pass tech). There was also a retro-style, burlesque-themed pinup girl contest to help keep the holiday spirit, um, warm. This was in addition to a great lineup of rockabilly bands and the usual assortment of artists like Robert Williams, Keith Weesner, Dennis McPhail, Jimmy C, Von Franco, Pizz, and others.

Rod and custom fans responded by making the '06 party the biggest in Mooneyes history, with more than 800 cars and an estimated 4,000 spectators on hand. The expansion came with a few growing pains, however. It seemed like the once-prominent artists, pinstripers, and vendors were no longer the center of attention, which definitely impacted the show's character. And while the drag racing was cool, most of the cars running were Mustangs, Camaros, and the like; we would've loved to see more rod and custom owners take a stab at the 'strip.

Despite our gripes, though, the Mooneyes Xmas Party remains one of the coolest events on the rodding calendar. It's a tradition that's well worth continuing, and one we look forward to every December. Check out the photos and you'll see why.